Exordium: Theme and Purpose of the Epistle (1:1-4)I. What is Christianity? (1:5—2:28)
1. A criticism of "religious experience," with an excursus upon sin and forgiveness
(1:5—2:6)
2. The New Dispensation (2:7-17)
3. The Truth and the Lie (2:18-28)
II. Life in the Family of God (2:29—4:12)
1. The children of God, their prerogatives and obligations,
with an excursus upon the nature and gravity of sin (2:29—3:10)
2. Love and Hatred; Life and Death (3:11-18)
3. Fellowship with God (3:19-24); Excursus on inspiration, true and false
(4:1-6)
4. The Love of God (4:7-12)
III. The Certainty of the Faith (4:13—5:13)
1. The nature and grounds of Christian assurance (4:13-18)
2. Love, obedience and faith (4:19—5:5)
3. The witness to the faith (5:6-13)
Postscript (5:14-21)
1. On Prayer and Intercession (5:14-17)
2. The great Christian certainties (5:18-21)
Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel
and Epistles of John (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1988).

Text Headings:I. Prologue: The Word of Life (1:1-4)II. God as Light (1:5—3:10)
God is Light (1:5-10)
Christ and His Commandments (2:1-6)
The New Commandment (2:7-11)
Members of the Community (2:12-17)
Antichrists (2:18-23)
Life from God's Anointing (2:24-27)
Children of God (2:28—3:3)
Avoiding sin (3:4-10)
III. Love for One Another (3:11—5:12)
(no subsection subheading - 3:11-19)
Confidence before God (3:19-24)
Testing the Spirits (4:1-6)
God's Love and Christian Life (4:7-21)
Faith is Victory over the World (5:1-12)
IV. Epilogue: Prayer for Sinners (5:13-21)

Commentary Headings:Prologue (1:1-4) - cf. John 1:1-18Part One: Walk in the Light of God (1:5—3:10)
Walking in light (1:5-7)
Opposition to sin (1:8—2:2)
Keeping the commandments (2:3-11)
Opposition to the world (2:12-17)
Antichrists (2:18-27)
Children of God (2:28—3:3)
Avoiding sin (3:4-10)
Part Two: Walk as Children of the God of Love (3:11—5:12)
Keep the commandments (3:11-24)
Test the spirits (4:1-6)
Love (4:7—5:5)
Witnesses to the faith (5:6-12)
Conclusion (5:13-21) - cf. John 20:30-31

Dwight Moody Smith, "John,
the Letters of," HCBD(San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1996).
Smith's prefatory note says, "1 John has no clearly defined structure, but its
essential content can be represented in the following way:"

I. Prologue: the grounds of the testimony (1:1-4)II. The true message of Jesus (1:5—3:24)
A. Fellowship, obedience, and forgiveness (1:5—2:17)
B. Warnings against false teachings (2:18-28)
C. The marks of life in the community (3:1-24)
III. Testing the claims of those who testify (4:1—5:12)
A. Testing the spirits (4:1-6)
B. Love as the essential test (4:7-21)
C. Obedience to the commandments (5:1-5)
D. The true testimony (5:6-12)
IV. Postscript: sins, forgiveness, and certain knowledge (5:13-21)